Happy Birthday Jason Todd
by Arrowcomix
Summary: Jason might not be a morning person, but what he faces when he wakes up today will shock him to his core. Rated T for violence, or maybe just scary situations. I can't decide which. But It's happy I swear.


**AN: It's Jason's Birthday. I thought he deserved a story. Even if it is a bit... um, dramatic.**

Jason Todd had been woken up in many different ways in his short life. He could remember some occasions better then others. But all the experiences were still tucked away in his memory somewhere. There was that time Dick had come bounding into his room at 4:30 in the morning on a Saturday when he was 14. On that occasion he had come to the self enlightening conclusion that he was not a morning person, if Dick's black eye had anything to say about the matter. On a slightly happier morning the year previous to that one, he had been woken up by a smiling Alfred and Dick, tagged along by a mulish looking Bruce, all singing him happy birthday and bearing a cake with them. Of course, this had been closer to the afternoon than morning, since patrol the previous night had been a long brutal one. But that warm, if embarrassing, feeling of gratefulness had touched the young teen. It was still strange for him when people cared about such trivial things as his birthday. Apparently that occasion had been a memorable one none the less, because it was still stored in his brain, in a special place he wouldn't forget.

Despite the plethora of ways Jason could remember being woken up, he had never awoken to burning lungs and stinging watering eyes before. And what was that incessant beeping filling his head and tearing him from his dreams. Grumpily he rolled over in his bed and opened his eyes. Immediately dread started to creep up inside him. Something was very, very wrong. Jason had come to trust his instincts and this time they were telling him to get up and run. As he pushed himself into a sitting position blinking the sleep from his eyes, his tired brain finally clicked and he suddenly knew what was happening. Fire. The mansion was on fire! Why was he even in the mansion? They had had a movie night last night and had decided to all stay here. They... The others! His brothers were here too!

Later, Jason would have blamed his extreme desire to save his family as a habit rooted in his brain from years of crime fighting. But as he jumped out of bed and coughed several times as the smoke really started seeping into his room in earnest, all his shocked brain could comprehend was his family. He sprinted to his door, and leaned against it, feeling for any wave of abnormal heat. Some of Bruce's lessons were so firmly ingrained in his head that he followed them as if they were second nature. In an instant he had flung his door open and was looking around wildly. The hall was thick with blackish grey smoke, and fire detectors were screaming their alarm, but what was truly terrifying was the sound of snapping wood and strong flames. The atmosphere nagged at something much deeper and darker in Jason's head, but he ignored it in favour of running towards the direction of inferno. Dick's room was down there. Visibility was extremely poor, despite the fire; a thick, smothering blanket of smoke covered everything. Jason had to stay crouched to the ground and covered his mouth with his shirt as he went, his hand on the wall to feel for the door to his brother's room. Finally his hand passed from warm drywall to tough oak, and Jason wasted no time in tearing the door open. The smoke wasn't as thick in here, though it was now pouring in fast. But Jason could make out his brother through the haze. He was already sitting up, probably woken by the fire alarms as Jason had been. He coughed and blinked up stupidly at his brother, rubbing his eyes.

"Jazon?" He slurred slightly, apparently still half asleep.

"Dick!" Jason breathed as he coughed and crossed over to his brother. "Fire!"

"What!" Dick said, head snapping up as the sleep drained from him. He looked around his eyes focusing on the smoke as he gazed in the direction of the unmistakable snapping, popping, rushing sound that meant the flames were close and moving fast.

Grabbing his older brother's arm, Jason dragged Dick out of bed, and the two ducked low and started moving back through the room.

"But the others!" Dick was saying. "What about Timmy and Da-"

He was cut off as a wave of fire raced into the hall, licking its way across the banister only a few yards from where the brother's were now stumbling to. The glow of the flames could be seen even through the smoke, but what was truly terrifying was the heat that assaulted them as soon as they stepped into the hall. Jason literally stumbled backwards as a wave of heat seemed to smash into him. He felt himself back into the wall and coughed into his shirt again, his lungs burning. Dick was by his side in an instant, shouting something Jason didn't comprehend, and then he found their roles switched as he was being pulled along by Dick, the two racing away from the inferno behind them. Jason looked back once or twice to see how fast the flames were progressing, and each time a wave of fear shot through him at the sight. Dick's room was already engulfed in dancing red and orange fire, as wood and plaster splintered and cracked beneath it. And then they were coming to a stop in front of Damian's room. And Dick was trying to open it. But the little brat had locked the door for whatever stupid reason. And the fire was tearing a path right towards them. Jason shuttered as the sounds of breaking glass splintered through the hall. That was one of the last sounds he had heard before...

Dick was now banging on Damian's bedroom door, shouting at the top of his lungs. Jason blinked his eyes to try and clear them of the stinging smoke, then shoved Dick aside and kicked in the door with one fluid motion. It banged against the wall as the two ran forward, Damian was bolting up right from his bed. His room was much more clear of smoke then Dick's had been. Yet again the acidic smelling stuff rushed forward as soon as the door had been broken in. Jason was starting to feel nauseous as he took in less and less oxygen.

"Grayson! Todd! What is the meaning-" But then Damian froze at the sight of them. His eyes narrowing as he saw their shirts pulled up over their mouths. He then looked up as the fire detector in his room started to blare with the presence of so much smoke. Comprehension and fear flashed in his eyes and without another word he scrambled out of bed and pressed himself close to Dick, who immediately grabbed the young boy's hand. To Jason's astonishment, not a single protest left the demon brat's mouth as the three made their way out of the room. The smoke yet again assaulting Jason's lungs. He doubled over as a fit of coughing shook his frame. Smoke inhalation was pretty much unavoidable at this point. A strong arm grabbed him under his shoulder and he was hoisted up once more. Only then did he notice that Damian was saying something. "-no use. The fire's too strong."

Desperately, Jason looked up to see a gale of flames racing towards them from the other side of the hall as well. The realization crashed down on him that their was no way he would be able to get to Tim, Bruce, or Alfred. He felt dizzy. And not just because of the smoke. More shattering glass along with a splintering of wood snapped him out of his revelation as Damian turned his head to face him and Dick. "We need to get out! The windows!"

The three stumbled over to the closest window, gleaming faintly through the ever increasing smoke. There was no tree to climb onto from here, but the two story drop wouldn't be that bad if they could just focus enough to land properly. But as Jason got close enough to the window to see through it, his heart sank. Pillars of fire were shooting sky high from the sides of the house, fifteen to twenty feet into the air. Even the ground and trees were obscured by a mixture of fire, smoke, and ash. "The stairs then!" Dick stated through a wave of coughing and grabbed Jason's and Damian's arms again. He seemed to have gone completely into overprotective brother mode again and Jason realized he didn't even care.

Ducking low, the three made their way towards the fire in front of them against their better judgment. The heat was radiating outwards towards them so powerfully that Jason's skin began to sting and throb. But he grit his teeth and even slipped his hand into Dick's when the older man groaned with the effort of pushing through the heat. They had to make it to the stairs before the fire did. They had to.

After what seemed like a minute, thought it couldn't have been more then ten seconds, they made it to the grand marble staircase, the fire only feet from them, already licking its way along the roof. Jason could see every feature of Dick's and Damian's faces illuminated in the flickering lights. Noted the fear in their eyes. And faintly he wondered if he looked the same at they turned and began racing down the stairs, the fire cracking behind them.

The next second a wave of heat was blasting out from behind him, one so powerful he was knocked forward and somehow found himself flying through the air. His hand was wrenched from Dick's as he dimly heard the other two scream from beside him. The heat was unbearable. The noise of an erupting ball of fire, far, far too familiar. And Jason was horrified to find himself actually sob with the memory that seemed to make itself so real in that terrible moment.

He was waiting for the impact that would come from being violently thrown through the air by an explosion. But it never came. He must have blacked out, because the next moment he was lying on his side, his left arm bent unnaturally, his side throbbing with a sharp pain, while his back burned red hot. He groaned as his ears rang and his vision blurred slightly. But he was alive and he didn't know if his brothers were. So with a wave of what could only be pure adrenalin, Jason pushed himself up enough to look around, his arm and side protesting with shock waves of white hot pain all the while. But he knew better then to look at them. He could already feel the warm ribbons of blood trailing down his side and face.

"Dick, Damian!" He rasped, followed by a renewed set of coughs. He tried again. "G-guys. Where are you?"

His hands were shaking so violently now that he realized there was a real danger of him falling back onto his side. Gritting his teeth, Jason squinted into the murky blackness, relying on the flickering lights to try and see around him. His streaming eyes were searching desperately for movement. But his brain was fighting a battle of its own. That explosion had brought up those memories again. And they were replying in his head. The searing heat, the nauseating pain, the despair of feeling trapped, vulnerable.

This time when Jason called, his voice has a sort of desperation laced in with the panic. "D-Dick! Damian! Answer me! Please!"

But the only sound that met his ears was the shattering splitting cracking noise of the fire around him. Suddenly, Jason caught movement to his left out of the corner of his eye. He inhaled sharply which caused him to choke and splutter as yet more smoke invaded his lungs. He tried to crawl towards the place which was now blanketed by a fresh layer of foggy smoke, but it became apparent quickly that the injury to his side wasn't going to cooperate. Desperately, Jason dragged himself forward, towards his brother in a sickeningly familiar way, blood trailing behind him as he slowly progressed.

"Dick!" His shaky voice called out. "Is that you? Damian?"

He could see the dark outline of the figure now, silhouetted against the bright dancing flames behind them. His eyes were burning with more than smoke now as he inched ever nearer to his brother, dreading what he would find when he finally made it to them. And somewhere in the background, a new sound was starting up. A familiar sound. One Jason never wanted to hear again, though he usually found it torturing him most nights.

"No!" The young hero sobbed, still dragging himself forward. "No you can't be here!" But the laughter just intensified with the flames until both fire and laughter were encircling Jason and his deathly still brother. "Go away!" Jason screamed, trembling violently, and keeping his eyes on the still frame ahead. "Leave me alone you Bastard!" And now he could see the person's face in front of him. It was Dick, lying there, deathly pale. Oblivious to the fire and manic laughter.

"Dick!" Jason cried, as he finally stopped next to his brother. "Oh God no, Dick! Get up!" But Dick didn't move and the laughter just kept getting louder and louder as Jason felt his heart break in a terrible agony as he stared as his brother. As he thought about the rest of his family, probably trapped and dying like he was. He clung to Dick's arm desperately as his thoughts brought him to a dangerous, delicate place. And suddenly he wasn't in the mansion of his teenage years any more. He was in a very familiar warehouse in Ethiopia. And all sound had stopped. And Jason just clutched his brother and cried silently.

"Jason?"

Slowly, ever so slowly, Jason opened his eyes, his emotion still raw as he trembled furiously. He recognized the symptoms of a bad nightmare immediately. His heart started to slow as he blinked up at the ceiling, then looked around for whoever had woken him as his breathing evened out.

It was Dick. Thank God it was Dick. And he was standing their looking at Jason with a growing sadness in his eyes. But Jason's heart leapt. Dick was here. He was okay. He was alive.

"What are you doing at my safe house Dicky?" He said, his tone bravely attempting exasperation.

In response Dick smiled and sat down on the foot of Jason's bed. "You wanna talk about it?"

"No." Jason said quietly.

To his relief, his brother didn't press the matter. Just sat there as Jason's shaking subsided and his breathing and heart rate resembled something more normal. Finally, when he felt like his thoughts were a little more stable, he looked up at his older brother once more.

"Really though. Why are you here?"

This time, Dick's smile was something more akin to mischievous. "I could show you?"

Jason really didn't like that suggestion. It implied a plethora of unpleasant possibilities. "Dick." He said dangerously, throwing the covers off and placing both feet on the cool wood. "What the hell did you do?"

"Nothing." His breather said in a totally unconvincing way as he hopped off the bed and out of Jason's reach.

"Right." Jason growled, the last vestiges of his nightmare beginning to vanish as his irritation with his elder brother sprang up.

Dick was backing towards the door, mischievous grin still in place as his hand brushed the door handle. "Just get yourself cleaned up and then come and see." He said mysteriously before opening the door a crack and vanishing behind it.

Jason considered arguing. It was his safe house after all. He didn't have to take orders from the golden boy. On the other hand, he was drenched in sweat, and felt like a shower would do him some good. Not to mention a few more minutes to cool down after that nightmare would be welcomed before facing whatever idiotic stunt Dick had to show him. His consciousness felt a bit delicate at the moment. So after a shower and a change of clothes, Jason stood facing the door to his bedroom and taking a few deep breaths, wondering what in the world he would have to deal with this time. If Dick had piled his kitchen with cereal boxes again then so help him Jason would hunt him down and wipe the smile off his pretty little face. Feeling apprehensive but resolute, Jason pushed his door open, ready to yell at Dick for whatever was on the other side to meet him.

"Surprise!"

Jason froze as his family, his entire family, jumped out to meet him as streamers and balloons flew through the air. Everyone was decked out in those ridiculous pointy party hats and were blowing those annoyingly loud, colorful noisemakers. Even, to Jason's utter shock, Bruce. Cass, Damian, Steph, Tim, Dick, Barbara, Alfred and Bruce. Jason wondered absurdly if they had had to tie Bruce down and threaten him to wear that hat. But his musings were cut off as the group started up a chorus of Happy Birthday while Alfred walked forward with a magnificent looking ice cream cake. Jason loved those things. He could only stand there, completely blown away as the procession stopped in front of him and a smiling Alfred held up his cake for him so he could blow out the candles. 20 of them. Wow, he was old.

"Happy birthday young sir." The elderly man said softly as he eyed Jason kindly.

"Alfred." Jason said, completely lost for words. "Guys, I-"

He cut himself off, unsure of how to sum up his emotions at this point.

"Just blow out the stupid candles Todd, it's melting," came Damian's snide voice. Jason merely smiled. Even the demon brat's attitude couldn't ruin this for him. Nothing could ruin this.

Taking in a huge breath, Jason blew out every single candle. He saw them go out, and just as quickly saw them reignite. "What the hell?"

"Aw come on Jason!" Tim snickered. "You can do better then that."

Indignantly, Jason took in even more air before blowing a second time, making sure every single candle was out before he stopped. But sure enough, they flickered back into life a second later. Jason was pretty sure he had a good ideas of what was going on now, if the gales of laughter from the others was any indication. And for the first time in a long time, Jason Todd smiled a genuinely happy smile.


End file.
